By Neil Ramos
Atom Araullo finally broke his silence Wednesday over remarks made by “Citizen Jake” director Mike de Leon on him several days ago.
Among other things, De Leon accused Araullo of being a “closet movie star.” He also described Araullo’s brand of journalism as “celebrity-centered schlock” that “verges on entertainment, even showbiz.”
Araullo, in a Facebook post, described De Leon a “deeply troubled person” who needs “help, patience and understanding.”
He was not surprised with the veteran director’s “hurtful” tirades noting it “was only the latest in a string of unprovoked, irrational, almost random tantrums that I had to endure during the making of (‘Citizen Jake’)…”
De Leon’s “woeful behaviour” he said, “had a profound effect on me, and to be honest, made it that much harder to perform my duties in the movie.”
Not dropping names, Araullo hinted, “Almost everyone who at one point worked on ‘Citizen Jake’ knows this, and his voluminous texts and emails will bear it out…”
As to De Leon’s take on him as journalist, Araullo said, “I have never made any claims about the quality of my output or my stature in the media industry. To do so would be futile and obscene. I just aim to do my best like everyone else, always acknowledging that one continues to learn and improve every day. I’ll leave it to the public to appraise the value of my work, accumulated over a decade of being a journalist.”
Despite their seeming falling out, Araullo still wished De Leon the best going on to share he wants him to be more “productive” and make movies that “rouse our consciousness, make us uncomfortable, and spur debate.”
